Database engines allow users to access data stored in databases. Some database engines allow information to be stored in a relational database. A relational database typically contains information that can be stored, accessed, and manipulated by a key or a combination of keys. Typically, database engines providing relational databases can be utilized by a variety of applications.
Structured query language (SQL) is typically used for communication between database engines providing relational databases and applications. In order to facilitate their use, a database engine typically provides an interface for communication with applications. The interface allows SQL queries to invoke the functions of the database engine. To use the database engine, applications provide SQL queries to the interface. The database engine then performs the operations in the queries on the relational database. Thus, SQL queries provide a standard mechanism for storing, manipulating, retrieving, and otherwise utilizing data based on a variety of keys.
The database engine and application are used within a computer system having particular machinery. For example, the computer system could include a network having a particular server on which the database engine, database, and application reside. Users at workstations access information in the database through the application and the database engine. The application can be a generic, readily available application or an application that has previously been customized for the users.
When designing the computer system, it must be ensured that the database engine and machinery provided can be adequately used with the application and the database holding the information the application is accessing. Typically, the time that it takes to perform a task depends on the database engine, the application, the machinery used and the size of the database. Thus, it must be ensured that for a database of a particular size, the application can use the database engine on the machinery to perform the desired tasks within a desired amount of time.
In order to ensure that the database engine and application can adequately function on the machinery for a database of a given size, benchmarks are typically used. Benchmarks are standard programs which can be run on a variety of database engines. Typically, the benchmarks are run so that they access database engines on a variety of machines at different database sizes. The time taken for the benchmarks to perform various tasks using each of the database engines on each of the machines can then be used to determine which machinery and which database engines are suitable for the computer system. Once this is determined, other factors, such as cost, can also be taken into account and the computer system provided to the users.
Although benchmarks provide a mechanism for selecting database engines and machinery, benchmarks do not account for differences in the applications to be used on the computer system. The benchmarks are standard programs that may behave very differently from the applications to be used on the computer system. Thus, benchmarks may not be able to adequately predict the behavior of the database engines and machinery considered. As a result, a non-optimal database engine or non-optimal machinery may be selected.
The inability of benchmarks to properly account for differences in applications can be addressed by running each application using a variety of database engines, at a variety of database sizes, on several machines. However, a customer may have several applications desired to be used. There is a relatively large number of database engines currently available. Characterizing each application with each database engine using different database sizes on different machinery is extremely time consuming and, therefore, expensive.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for more efficiently characterizing applications or database engines, allowing for selection of the database engine and machinery. The present invention addresses such a need.